The Dangers of Gatorade and other Drink-like Substances for your Child

I would bet if you are older than 25 you have never thought that something that professional athletes use would be bad for you, let alone your child. And I am not talking about steroids, alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. On a side note, do you remember when Gatorade came in glass bottles? If you do you will be shocked at what is actually in that bottle today.

"Pediatric athletes can benefit from using sports drinks that contain carbohydrates, protein, or electrolytes; however, for a child engaged in routine physical activity, the use of sports drinks in place of water on the sports field or in the school lunchroom is unnecessary. Stimulant-containing energy drinks have no place in the diets of children or adolescents. Excessive regular consumption of carbohydrate-containing beverages increases overall daily caloric intake without significant additional nutritional value. Therefore, frequent consumption adversely affects the appropriate balance of carbohydrate, fat, and protein intakes needed for optimal growth, development, body composition, and health." 
(Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics)

The beverage was first developed in 1965 by researchers at the University of Florida, to replenish the combination of water, carbohydrates, and electrolytes that the school's student-athletes lost in sweat during rigorous athletic competitions. Thus, its name was derived from the collective nickname of the university's athletic teams, the Florida Gators.

Disadvantages of Drinking Gatorade

Gatorade is a sports drink that claims to benefit athletic performance, and professional athletes promote the beverage. While Gatorade may offer advantages in some circumstances, such as fueling endurance activities, Gatorade isn't an optimal sports beverage and can prove detrimental to your health and the health of your child in some ways.

Erosion and Tooth Decay

Gatorade's high sugar content may make it detrimental for your overall health. Each 20 oz. bottle of Gatorade contains 34 g sugar, which is nearly 2.5 times the amount in a 1/2 cup serving of ice cream. In addition, Gatorade contains citric acid. According to the American Dental Association, both sugar and citric acid can promote tooth decay and erosion of your teeth. And don't even ask about G2, that stuff will kill you faster.

Reduced Testosterone

Although Gatorade is purported to enhance athletic performance, some features of the drink can actually be counterproductive for athletes. One factor is the high sugar content; a study performed at the Massachusetts General Hospital found that consuming a large dose of sugar reduced testosterone production. According to research published in the June 2009 edition of the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism," higher testosterone levels improved endurance, muscle size and strength, in a group of older men, so it's possible that reducing your testosterone production through over consumption of sugar could hinder your athletic ability.

Upset Stomach

Although carbohydrates can be helpful for promoting energy, certain types, such as sugar, may be disadvantageous. Consuming too much sugar during or before exercise may result in an upset stomach, which can hinder your performance.

Fatigue

Athletic activity can be tiring, and drinking a sugar-laden drink such as Gatorade may actually make you feel more tired. This is because sugar causes an initial increase in blood sugar levels that is followed by a dramatic reduction, which can make you feel fatigued. Complex carbohydrates, found in whole grain products and certain nutrition bars and drinks, are preferable because they provide sustained energy and don't cause large fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

Weight Management

Drinking Gatorade may impair your ability to manage your weight, as it is calorie dense, with 130 per 12 oz. serving. Additionally, Gatorade contains no fiber, which can help suppress appetite. Gatorade also has a high glycemic index rating, as it contains sugars but no protein or fat. According to a study from the June 2011 edition of "Journal of Nutrition," consuming high-glycemic foods can impair your weight loss efforts. Additionally, the fact that Gatorade is a liquid can also be detrimental, as high-calorie liquids are less filling than solid food.
Artificial Colors/Flavors
These have been linked to ADD/ADHD and other behavioral issues in children. These should be avoided in all foods.

Ingredients

High Fructose Corn Syrup- is an inexpensive sweetener--cheaper than sugar--that is used extensively to sweeten foods and beverages. It is also a preservative, used to extend the shelf-life of processed foods and it tops the list of items to be eliminated from your diet for numerous reasons. One of the latest reasons to avoid high fructose corn syrup is outlined by The American Society of Nephrology in a press release dated Oct. 29, 2009 detailing the results of its study. "These results indicate that high fructose intake in the form of added sugars is significantly and independently associated with higher blood pressure levels in the U.S. adult population with no previous history of hypertension," Plus it will make you fat.
dextrose - more sugar
citric acid - dental erosion (see above)
natural flavor - This could be anything like MSG, Aspartame or GMO (genetically modified organisms) even bugs! The FDA can not and does not police this additive.
sodium chloride - (table salt)
sodium citrate - emulsifier
monopotassium phosphate - is a soluble salt which is used as a fertilizer, a food additive and a fungicide
and flavoring/coloring ingredients - causes cancer in mice
brominated vegetable oil as a stabilizer, they just took this out. After a petition they decide our Gatorade did not need to be flame retardant. 

If this all makes sense and you say, "I just drink G2. (diet gatorade)" Then you missed the point, artificial can not replace natural.
To sum up, your child does not need Gatorade. No matter what Jeter or Jordan says. Water should be the go to re-hydration drink of any child.
Check out one of my favorite blogs, this one is on Pedialyte.
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/31/homemade-pedialyte/

How We Are Making Our Children Sick part 3 of 6

Antibiotics

Antibiotics given in the first year of life quadruple a child’s risk of developing asthma. Children given antibiotics after age one year are still one and a half times more likely to develop asthma than children not given antibiotics. What is particularly concerning is that every course of antibiotic treatments a child increases the occurrence of allergies and that treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics, such as streptomycin, tetracycline, and Cipro®, appear to be more likely to be associated with allergy development than is ordinary penicillin.

Antibiotics enhance allergic reactions by sidestepping (my son would say "cheats") the normal immune system response. Whenever the immune system successfully deals with an infection it emerges from the experience stronger and better able to confront similar threats in the future. Through the process of developing and then conquering infection, the child gets rid of acquired toxins and poisons from the body and receives a boost to the immune system. If you always jump in with antibiotics at the first sign of infection you do not give the immune system a chance to grow stronger.

Antibiotics also act nonspecifically, killing infectious bacteria as well as upsetting the normal gut flora. (There will be a whole other posting on that little nugget.) Substances that are introduced through the mouth are normally ignored by the humoral system (look back at part 2). But, in order for this to occur, the normal bacteria in the intestines need to be present. Alterations in the normal intestinal bacteria levels, especially in infancy, allow food proteins and other particles to pass into the blood stream before they are broken down, where the body identifies them as a threat, contributing to a persistent humoral response and the development of allergic diseases.

How We Are Making Our Children Sick part 2 of 6

Hygiene

There are numerous reports that suggest the excessive cleanliness practiced in modern society may be partly responsible for the increased incidence of allergic diseases. Repeated exposure while young to various types of bacteria and spores found in dirt, dust, and animal dander may actually protect against the development of allergies. A molecule known as an endotoxin naturally occurs in the outer membrane of bacteria. When the bacteria die the endotoxin is released into the environment. Children are exposed to these endotoxins by breathing them in, or by ingesting them when they put their hands or other objects into their mouths. The exposure to bacteria, viruses, and endotoxins is essential for the maturation of the immune system; less exposure leads to imbalanced immune responses.

Children’s early exposure to allergens and infections prime their immune systems to resist them later on. Although children in daycare seem to get sick more often than other children do, this is not necessarily a bad thing. These colds and other infections may be giving their immature immune systems a health workout, resulting in a lower incidence of asthma. Children with the highest degree of personal hygiene are the most likely to develop eczema and wheezing between the ages of two and a half and three and a half years. In 2000, a study of 61 infants between the ages of 9–24 months found that the more house dust an infant was exposed to, the less likely that they would suffer allergies.

How We Are Making Our Children Sick

The purpose of the immune system is to allow us to live in harmony with our environment. In fact, most of the trillions of foreign cells present within our body coexist peacefully, and in some cases even contribute to our health and well-being. In spite of this, chronic diseases such as allergies, asthma, and eczema, which were rare several decades ago, have risen exponentially, especially in children, quadrupling during the last two decades.

The number of asthma sufferers in the United States is expected to double by the year 2020, affecting 1 in every 14 people and outnumbering the combined projected populations of New York and New Jersey. A growing number of scientists now believe that the routine measures taken to suppress and prevent infections actually weaken certain responses of a child’s immune system, allowing other less appropriate responses to operate without control. The reduction of childhood diseases has been heralded as one of medicine’s finest accomplishments, yet there are growing suspicions that infection intervention may be having an adverse effect; as childhood infections have decreased, chronic afflictions have increased.

The immune system has two different aspects: the cell-mediated immune system and the humoral immune system. The cell-mediated immune system involves white blood cells and specialized immune cells which “eat” antigens, or foreign particles in the body. This helps drive the antigens out of the body causing symptoms such as skin rashes and the discharge of pus and mucous from the throat and lungs. The cell-mediated response is associated with the beneficial acute inflammatory illnesses (not a correct term) of children, and represents the externalization, or driving out of the infection.

The other aspect is called the humoral immune system whereby antibodies—special defense proteins—are produced to recognize and neutralize the antigen. It is a persistent humoral response that is associated with chronic allergic-type diseases.

In order to be healthy, a child must keep a balance between the cell-mediated system and the humoral system, with the cell-mediated system predominating. The cell-mediated response is activated by the natural exposure to bacteria and viruses, in the way children are exposed by interacting with their friends. Through repeated exposure to infectious organisms a child develops a diverse repertoire of immune response patterns. It is the cell-mediated response that protects a child from future illness, and develops the type of immune response we commonly associate with life-long immunity. The cell-mediated system suppresses the activity of the humoral system. The more active the cell-mediated activity is, the less active the humoral system is.

However, if the cell-mediated system is not properly stimulated it does not fully develop, leading to an abnormally high production of humoral system antibodies. A humoral system that is continually engaged will overdevelop, creating a hypersensitive environment. When infants are exposed to germs early, their immune systems are pushed to go in an “infection-fighting direction.” Without this push, the immune system’s shift to infection fighting is delayed, and it becomes more likely to overreact to allergens—dust, mold, and other environmental factors that most people can tolerate.

Early life experiences are believed to play a crucial role in the formation and patterning of a child’s immune system. Sensitization begins in utero and the first few months of life are crucial, for once cell-mediated/humoral imbalance occurs it tends to persist until specific measures are taken to shift the immune system back to equilibrium. There are several ways that pattern the reaction of the immune system toward either the cell-mediated response or the humoral response based on their timing and frequency. The important thing for a parent to understand is that their child’s immune system will react based on the way it has been patterned and programmed to react. If your child’s current immune capacity is poor, then it is possible to improve it by making better choices in the future.

In part 2 of 6 we will discuss ways to improve your child's immune system.
How confident are you that you have done everything possible to insure your child's immune system is functioning at its highest level? Not sure, then I am excited for you to read the next 5 issues.